Getting to full disclosure: HCV testing and status disclosure behaviors among PWID and their injecting partners.

Background: People who inject drugs (PWID) face a substantial risk of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, often in the context of multiple injecting partnerships. The disclosure of HCV status to injecting partners holds significant implications for prevention and care among PWID.

Methods: We used cross-sectional dyadic survey data (collected from both members of injecting partnerships) to estimate the prevalence of HCV-status disclosure between PWID and their injecting partners, overall and by partnership HCV infection status.

Facilitating access to direct-acting antivirals in a community-based point-of-diagnosis model for hepatitis C treatment: The role of the pharmacy team in the no one waits (NOW) study.

Background: Despite simplified hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment algorithms, insurance-related barriers prevent same-day HCV treatment upon diagnosis in the US. We assessed how direct partnerships with a pharmacy team facilitated HCV treatment initiation among socially marginalized populations in a community setting.

Methods: The No One Waits (NOW) Study, a single-arm trial conducted between July 1, 2020, and October 31, 2021, in San Francisco, CA, targeted individuals experiencing homelessness, injecting drugs, and eligible for simplified HCV treatment.

Illicit Substance Use and Treatment Access Among Adults Experiencing Homelessness.

Importance: The lack of representative research on homelessness risks mischaracterizing and misrepresenting the prevalence of illicit substance use.

Objective: To estimate the population prevalence and patterns of illicit substance use, treatment, nonfatal overdose, and naloxone possession among people experiencing homelessness in 1 US state.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This representative survey study of adults experiencing homelessness from October 2021 to November 2022 in 8 California counties used multistaged probability-based sampling and respondent-driven sampling.

A single-site randomized controlled trial of partner navigation to HCV treatment for people who inject drugs: a study protocol for the You're Empowered for Treatment Initiation (YETI) partner trial.

Background: Disparities persist in testing and treatment for hepatitis C virus (HCV), leaving socially marginalized populations, including people who inject drugs (PWID), less likely to benefit from curative treatment. Linkage services are often insufficient to overcome barriers to navigating the medical system and contextual factors.

Methods: The You're Empowered for Treatment Initiation (YETI) Partner trial is a single-site randomized controlled trial evaluating the efficacy of a two-session behavioral intervention that engages injecting partners as peer navigators for HCV treatment.

Evaluation of a mentorship matchmaking event at an academic research institution to reinforce the scientific workforce pathway for underrepresented minority groups.

Background: Mentorship and research experiences are crucial for STEMM career entry and advancement. However, systemic barriers have excluded people from historically underrepresented groups.

Methods: In 2021, a virtual "matchmaking event" was held to connect NIH-funded research mentors with historically underrepresented trainees and initiate mentored research experiences.

PROPEL: a scalable model for postbaccalaureate training to promote diversity in the biomedical workforce.

Promoting diversity in the scientific workforce is crucial for harnessing the potential of available talent and ensuring equitable access to Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine (STEM-M) careers. We have developed an innovative program called Postbaccalaureate Research Opportunity to Promote Equity in Learning (PROPEL) that provides scientific and career development training for postbaccalaureate scholars from historically excluded backgrounds in STEM-M fields with an interest in pursuing a PhD or MD/PhD degree. Our program is distinct from other postbaccalaureate programs in that scholars are hired by individual labs rather than funded centrally by the program.

Staff-Facilitated Telemedicine Care Delivery for Treatment of Hepatitis C Infection among People Who Inject Drugs.

Background: Telemedicine offers the opportunity to provide clinical services remotely, thereby bridging geographic distances for people engaged in the medical system. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the widespread adoption of telemedicine in clinical practices has persisted, highlighting its continued relevance for post-pandemic healthcare. Little is known about telemedicine use among people from socially marginalized groups.

Lessons learned from implementing a diversity, equity, and inclusion curriculum for health research professionals at a large academic research institution.

Objective: Despite advances in incorporating diversity and structural competency into medical education curriculum, there is limited curriculum for public health research professionals. We developed and implemented a four-part diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training series tailored for academic health research professionals to increase foundational knowledge of core diversity concepts and improve skills.

Methods: We analyzed close- and open-ended attendee survey data to evaluate within- and between-session changes in DEI knowledge and perceived skills.

Low-income San Franciscans' Access to Basic Needs during COVID Shelter-in-Place: A Focus on People Who Use Drugs.

We conducted a cross-sectional study of low-income San Franciscans to assess the impact of COVID-19 on their life and well-being during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic when the focus was on higher socioeconomic populations. Stratified analyses compared people who used drugs with those who did not and open-ended response data were sorted into themes. Of the 145 participants, most (70%) changed their behavior by practicing social distancing and reducing the number of their contacts.

Community-Based Point-of-Diagnosis Hepatitis C Treatment for Marginalized Populations: A Nonrandomized Controlled Trial.

Importance: Disparities persist in testing and treatment for hepatitis C virus (HCV), leaving socially marginalized populations less likely to benefit from curative treatment. Linkage services are often insufficient to overcome barriers to navigating the medical system and contextual factors.

Objective: To determine the feasibility, acceptability, and safety of HCV treatment at the point of HCV infection diagnosis disclosure in a nonclinical community setting.

Exclusionary School Discipline and School Achievement for Middle and High School Students, by Race and Ethnicity.

Importance: There are racial and ethnic inequities in exclusionary school discipline (ESD) (ie, a disciplinary action that removes students from their classroom or school environment, eg, referrals, suspensions, and/or expulsions) practices in the US. Exclusionary school discipline has been associated with negative education, health, and criminal justice outcomes.

Objectives: To investigate whether experiencing an ESD event was associated with decreased grade point average (GPA) and whether minoritized students (eg, Black or Latine [description used in database]) are disproportionately affected compared with White students.

A pilot study to understand and respond to loss, theft, and misplacement of hepatitis C treatment medication for people who inject drugs.

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Hepatitis C prevalence and key population size estimate updates in San Francisco: 2015 to 2019.

Background: In 2017, San Francisco's initiative to locally eliminate hepatitis C virus (HCV) as a public health threat, End Hep C SF, generated an estimate of city-wide HCV prevalence in 2015, but only incorporated limited information about population HCV treatment. Using additional data and updated methods, we aimed to update the 2015 estimate to 2019 and provide a more accurate estimate of the number of people with untreated, active HCV infection overall and in key subgroups-people who inject drugs (PWID), men who have sex with men (MSM), and low socioeconomic status transgender women (low SES TW).

Methods: Our estimates are based on triangulation of data from blood bank testing records, cross-sectional and longitudinal observational studies, and published literature.

An on-site community-based model for hepatitis C screening, diagnosis, and treatment among people who inject drugs in Kerman, Iran: The Rostam study.

Background: People who inject drugs (PWID) are at high risk for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and its complications in many countries, including Iran. This pilot study aimed to evaluate the effect of a community-based HCV model of care on HCV testing and treatment initiation among PWID in Kerman, Iran.

Methods: This study is part of the Rostam study and is a non-randomized trial evaluating the effect of on-site HCV- antibody rapid testing, venipuncture for HCV RNA testing, and treatment eligibility assessment on HCV testing and treatment initiation among PWID.

Hepatitis C mortality trends in San Francisco: can we reach elimination targets?

Purpose: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the most common blood-borne infection in the United States, and a leading cause of liver disease, transplant, and mortality. CDC HCV elimination goals include reducing HCV-related mortality by 65% (from 2015) by 2030.

Methods: We used vital registry data (CDC WONDER) to estimate overall and demographic-specific HCV-related mortality from 1999 to 2019 in San Francisco and then used an exponential model to project progress toward HCV elimination.

Identification of Genetically Related HCV Infections Among Self-Described Injecting Partnerships.

Background: The current opioid epidemic across the United States has fueled a surge in the rate of new hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections among young persons who inject drugs (PWIDs). Paramount to interrupting transmission is targeting these high-risk populations and understanding the underlying network structures facilitating transmission within these communities.

Methods: Deep sequencing data were obtained for 52 participants from 32 injecting partnerships enrolled in the U-Find-Out (UFO) Partner Study, which is a prospective study of self-described injecting dyad partnerships from a large community-based study of HCV infection in young adult PWIDs from San Francisco.

Progress toward closing gaps in the hepatitis C virus cascade of care for people who inject drugs in San Francisco.

Background: People who inject drugs (PWID) are disproportionately affected by hepatitis C virus (HCV). Data tracking the engagement of PWID in the continuum of HCV care are needed to assess the reach, target the response, and gauge impact of HCV elimination efforts.

Methods: We analyzed data from the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (NHBS) surveys of PWID recruited via respondent driven sampling (RDS) in San Francisco in 2018.

Hepatitis C Care Cascades for 3 Populations at High Risk: Low-income Trans Women, Young People Who Inject Drugs, and Men Who Have Sex With Men and Inject Drugs.

Background: To achieve elimination of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, limited resources can be best allocated through estimation of "care cascades" among groups disproportionately affected. In San Francisco and elsewhere, these groups include young (age ≤ 30 years) people who inject drugs (YPWID), men who have sex with men who inject drugs (MSM-IDU), and low-income trans women.

Methods: We developed cross-sectional HCV care cascades for YPWID, MSM-IDU, and trans women using diverse data sources.

A Randomized Study to Assess the Effect of Including the Graduate Record Examinations Results on Reviewer Scores for Underrepresented Minorities.

Whether requiring Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) results for doctoral applicants affects the diversity of admitted cohorts remains uncertain. This study randomized applications to 2 population-health doctoral programs at the University of California San Francisco to assess whether masking reviewers to applicant GRE results differentially affects reviewers' scores for underrepresented minority (URM) applicants from 2018-2020. Applications with GRE results and those without were randomly assigned to reviewers to designate scores for each copy (1-10, 1 being best).

"Violence and love and drugs…it all goes hand in hand": A mixed methods analysis of the substance abuse, violence, and HIV/AIDS syndemic among women who use methamphetamine.

The synergistic epidemics of substance use, violence, and HIV/AIDS, also known as the SAVA syndemic, disproportionately affects vulnerable women in the United States. Methamphetamine use is closely linked with physical and sexual violence, including intimate partner violence (IPV), which heightens women's vulnerability to HIV. This mixed methods study examined the prevalence and correlates of violence among women who use methamphetamine, ( = 209) enrolled in an HIV intervention study in San Diego, California.